Leicester’s pack have heaved their way to eight penalty tries – six in the Aviva Premiership and two in the Heineken Cup – with their most recent bringing them a dramatic final-minute victory at Worcester Warriors last weekend.

The former two-time European champions have touched down just 41 times in 19 fixtures this season – but scored four when the Ospreys capitulated in the final 10 minutes to lose 39-22 at Welford Road in October.

But the Ospreys had Wales prop Ryan Bevington sin-binned during the first half of that game by French referee Romain Poite for alleged persistent infringements at the scrum.

It was a decision which the Ospreys have been simmering over and they intend to put the record straight in the Pool Two encounter, knowing defeat will put them out of the Heineken Cup.

“It will be a titanic scrum battle,” predicted Tandy.

“A couple of decisions didn’t go our way in Leicester – we thought Ryan was harshly treated and it’s something we want to put right.

“Leicester probably haven’t come up against a scrum like ours in the Aviva Premiership.

“We are going to be positive, we are not going to worry about it. There was an edge in the team meeting we had on Tuesday, a feeling that a couple of things didn’t go our way in Leicester.

“Not just in the scrum but coming away without a bonus point – that really kicked us in the teeth. Set-piece is going to be huge but we are really confident in how we scrum.

“We feel we can impose ourselves in that area, it’s something we are preparing for.

“We are confident in our scrum and confident in our game that we can really put in a performance on Sunday.”

Bevington and Adam Jones started against Samoa international Logovi’i Mulipola and England star Cole, who is expected to be Jones’ main rival for the Lions No.3 jersey in Australia this summer, three months ago.

A game of tactical chess by rival coaches Tandy and Richard Cockerill saw veteran Duncan Jones and Aaron Jarvis take over from the Ospreys pair and renowned Test scrummagers Ayerza and Martin Castrogiovanni from the Leicester props.

More spice is added by the presence of Six Nations hooker hopefuls Richard Hibbard and Tom Youngs, who packed down in the front-row when England demolished World Cup holders New Zealand last month.

Tandy admitted it was difficult to deal with the depth of Leicester’s rich front-row resources, saying: “They are very fortunate to have those guys and be able to bring those replacements on.

“You are lucky to have that type of squad and to keep them fit.”

But, as he pointed out, the loss of Jarvis for the season with a knee injury enabled the Ospreys to sign New Zealand cap Campbell Johnstone as back-up for Jones.

And the Kiwi did a sterling job as the Ospreys enjoyed a thrilling 17-6 triumph over Toulouse last month.

“We were fortunate enough to bring Campbell in as cover and we are pretty happy with ourselves,” said Tandy.

“Other teams have been dismantled by Leicester, but we are pretty blessed in that area ourselves.

“We have the ability to bring on the likes of Duncan, who has been terrific for us this season, and Scott Baldwin.

“Scott was one of the shining lights against Zebre and we have no issue with him coming on.

“Campbell came in from Spain, off the deck chairs, and produced 80 minutes out in Toulouse that was something else.

“So we are comfortable with our bench and hope we can combat them.

“We are fortunate enough to have plenty of depth in that department, so it isn’t going to be a concern for us.

“Duncan, Scott and Campbell started in Toulouse and put in huge shifts.

“There is no club prouder of their scrum than Toulouse and these boys had the chance to play out there.

“That’s a real positive.”

Former England hooker Cockerill was at pains to point out the Ospreys are a dangerous beast who have won their last four games in the RaboDirect Pro12. “They are a tough side with a lot of international players in there,” he said.

“Having Adam Jones back from injury in that scrum makes a huge difference.

“They are well coached, have a large amount of Welsh internationals in their pack and we respect them.”

Wales centre Ashley Beck is unlikely to start because of an ankle injury sustained during the Ospreys’ victory at the Dragons on New Year’s Eve, so Tom Isaacs is on standby to deputise.

Openside flanker Justin Tipuric is also battling to overcome a shoulder problem, with his chances of playing put at 50-50.

“If we lose ‘Becks’ and ‘Tips’ it will be a huge task for us, especially given the limited squad we have,” said Tandy.

“But it’s something we have to prepare for and we are going to give it a right old go.

“We have no issues with Tom starting at 13 this weekend, he did really well for us there against the Scarlets earlier in the season.”

“There’s always that temptation (to risk Tipuric) but we won’t put the group before the player.

“If he’s not right, he’s not right.

“There are educated risks in what we are doing, but I need to sit down with the physio and see where they are come Friday,” he added.

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